Galloran surfaced beside Rachel, gasping for breath. Well done, he transmitted mentally.
She stared in astonished relief at the floating ash. She tried to recall the word she had uttered, but not a syllable remained. I’m just glad it worked, she replied. He was about to eat me. How did you know he was going to attack?
Dorsio righted the canoe and began to swim it toward Rachel and Galloran.
The same way he figured out we had the word to unmake him, Galloran explained. I sensed his intent just before he moved to swipe the canoe. He was afraid. He hoped to crush us before we could try the Word. Showing us orantium and then challenging you to summon lightning were simply distractions. He did a fine job burying his intentions until the last instant.
And you stabbed his claw the same way?
I felt it coming.
“Are you all right?” Rachel asked out loud.
“The blow dislocated my shoulder,” Galloran said. “At least I kept hold of the sword.”
Dorsio helped Galloran into the canoe. Rachel stared at the sword in his hand, the lustrous blade gleaming.
“It’s a beautiful sword,” she said.
“Unequalled craftsmanship,” Galloran agreed. “Dorsio, please force my shoulder back into place. We’ll have to fetch the others. With all the roaring, they may fear we perished. Plus, we’ll need help transporting the orantium. We’ll want to scour the area for all we can find.”
Dorsio placed one hand against Galloran’s back, the other on his upper arm, and reset his shoulder with a measured jerk. Galloran gave a soft grunt.
“There’s a bunch of orantium in view,” Rachel said.
“And more beneath the surface,” Galloran said. “It should help open doors for us.”
CHAPTER 16
GLOBES AND MUSHROOMS
Doing his best to count one second at a time, Jason had reached two hundred and eighteen before Tark surfaced. Since Jason had reached one hundred and seventy during the previous dive, he was concerned but not yet panicked. Tark had proven that he could hold his breath for a very long time.
“Look what I found,” Tark said, breathing deeply but not desperately, one hand clutching the side of the skiff while the other held up a crystal globe the size of a soccer ball.
“Is that orantium?” Rachel asked.
“Looks like it,” Tark replied.
“It’s huge,” Jason said.
“How huge?” Galloran asked.
“The rock inside is bigger than my fist,” Jason said.
Galloran chuckled with boyish excitement. “A gatecrasher. None are supposed to remain. I have certainly never seen one. They were intended to bombard heavy fortifications. Did you see any more?”
“At least twenty,” Tark replied. “Along with plenty of regular globes, all crowded into a deep chamber.”
“Twenty gatecrashers,” Galloran enthused. “This surpasses my most optimistic expectations.”
“All right,” Ferrin huffed, “I’ll help. But if I catch some horrible disease, I’ll be coughing on all of you.”
“I can get them,” Tark said. “The water isn’t cold. And the globes weigh little underwater. They almost float. I could keep this up for hours.”
Ferrin pulled off his nose and handed it to Jason. “I’ve felt guilty this entire time. This last dive kept you under for too long.”
“It’s a deep chamber,” Tark said, “but I can reach it.”
“It isn’t fair for the one of us who can breathe underwater to relax while you do dangerous work. A find like those gatecrashers pushes me over the edge. I’ll make sure the deepest recesses are investigated. Jason, don’t let the fabric completely block my breathing.” He stepped off the skiff.
“I’m not sure how much more we can carry,” Jason said. The skiff and the canoe were both already heavily laden with orantium spheres. They had transferred all the globes from the island of stone slabs, and Tark had already salvaged dozens more from below the water.
“Something tells me we could make room for more gatecrashers,” Ferrin said, his face unsightly without a nose. He glanced at Tark. “Show me where to go.”
The displacer and Tark both vanished below the murky surface, using the last of the luminous kelp to light their way. The glowing seaweed passed out of sight before long.
Jason, Rachel, Dorsio, and Galloran waited together on the skiff. Aram, still small, lay sleeping in the bow.
“Look!” Rachel said.
Jason turned and found Drake and Nedwin rowing through the gap in the wall. They piloted a vessel not quite as large as the skiff, but significantly bigger than the canoe. The young woman who accompanied them had long blond hair. Like the others, her face was covered with fabric, but her expressive green eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Father!” Corinne cried.
A quiet sob shook Galloran before he pulled the fabric from his face and called out, “Corinne?”
“Your daughter lives!” Nedwin exclaimed triumphantly.
Galloran’s smile crinkled the exposed portions of his bearded face into happy lines. He pressed a hand to his chest. Drake and Nedwin swiftly rowed nearer.
Corinne leaped lightly to the skiff. She wore brown traveling clothes and notably feminine boots. A sword hung from her trim waist in a long sheath. Jason was surprised to find she was not much shorter than him. As she pulled the fabric from her face to greet her father with a kiss, Jason noticed generous lips, flawless skin, and elegantly sculpted features. She looked to be in her late teens, and abruptly struck him as the most beautiful girl he had ever seen!
Tark and Ferrin surfaced, each holding a pair of large orantium globes.
“Who’s this?” Ferrin asked. “How long were we under?”
“They found Corinne,” Rachel supplied.
“Why the blindfold?” Corinne asked Galloran. “What happened to your eyes?”
“I lost my sight,” he replied.
“Oh no!”
“It was long ago. Tell me what happened to your great-aunt.”
“I don’t recall the specifics,” Corinne said. “I wrote myself a note that said ‘natural causes.’ You’ll have to check my other set of memories for specifics.” She slipped a hand into the satchel that hung from her shoulder and retrieved a round mushroom. When she squeezed gently, spores the color of brown mustard puffed out. Corinne inhaled deliberately.
Even with the fabric over his nose and mouth, Jason added the protection of his hand. He knew the spores would block out all memories except those experienced while breathing the mushroom gas.